


To You, From the Other Side of the World

by SpamMusubiii



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:26:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29516673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpamMusubiii/pseuds/SpamMusubiii
Summary: What started out as a mission to find Zuko's mom ends up into a cascade of tragic events. Team Avatar and Azula gets stuck in Paradis Island, left with no other option but to join the scouts as an escape route. From what appeared to be an accident at first turned out to be something that was predestined in the first place, a divine will, a mission. They're forced to watch the truth turn into lies, as lies turn into truth. There's something more to their history than what their forefathers had told them, as their real identities will soon become their greatest downfall. It's nothing but an endless cycle, humanity against humanity, war on war, until there can only be one thing left: peace.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: The story begins during The Search Comics for Avatar: The Last Airbender and 104th training corps arc for Attack On Titan. 
> 
> Enjoy reading!

_"My own mother thought I was a monster..." Azula started as she stood right in front of the fire, catching everyone's attention. It all felt too familiar, yet surreal. Zuko couldn't help but feel the shivers being sent down his spine. Something felt odd, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was._

_Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing._

_"She was right, of course..." Azula scoffed as she blankly looked at her own hand before discreetly taking the knife she had kept inside her pocket for so long._

_"But it still hurt." She whispered, frowning. With the distinct glint in her eyes, she slashed her palm, blood dripping down the soil beneath from right where she stood, turning everything into its path a lethal shade of crimson. It's exactly how she envisioned humanity kneeling beneath their mercy._

_Small bouts of lighting surrounded her entire body, there was no time for caution to everyone gathered around her._

_Sokka held onto the blade of his maneuvering gear tightly in anticipation of what was going to happen next, but still failing to prevent it as his mouth fell agape in shock just like the others._

_Perhaps it was too late. None of them have seen this coming, not even Zuko himself._

_Aang couldn't believe_ _what was happening, none of the past avatars had warned him about this or even the mere possibility of it. He immediately sprinted towards Katara in a desperate attempt to shield her._

_And that's when everything turned black._

* * *

"Aang, you need to wake up." He heard a faint voice talking to him. He couldn't feel anything, it's as if he was floating in mere darkness, and all that kept him somehow grounded to reality was that faint voice he could barely even recognize.

"Aang." The voice repeated even louder. By now he could feel his limbs again, he attempted to close his fists just to feel... something.

"Aang, please. You have to wake up, you need to stay alive." He could feel a hand on his chest, stirring him up. He finally knew who was talking to him.

"Aang? Aang." Katara cried out again, her breaths were becoming even shallower as her face grew even more worried.

"You have to give it some time, Kat. I'm sure he's fine." Sokka reassured as he placed a hand on her shoulder in efforts to calm her down, it didn't work too well, though.

"It's been an entire day, Sokka. How am I not supposed to worry about him?!" Katara snapped.

"Geez, if he has a pulse and if he's breathing then that means he's alive. It's that simple." Azula sighed, crossing her elbows as she butted in, only to get a hostile reaction from Katara.

"He saved your ass, so the best thing you can do is shut up!" Katara retorted.

Azula glared back and couldn't help but frown at what Katara just told her. It was true though. She was in a near-death experience for the first time in her entire life. And the worst part is that she was saved by someone she ruthlessly killed in the past. It was pathetic, to say the least.

She was pathetic.

Katara bit her lip, eyebrows furrowed as she frantically located his pulse. He was still alive and breathing, just like what Azula said. That's good. But what if... what if... "What if he's brain-dead? How are we supposed to... how are we supposed to get back?"

"I'm sure we'll figure something out..." Zuko muttered mindlessly. He wasn't even so sure of that himself, but he said it anyways in hopes of keeping everyone sane. "What's important is that we're now safe inside the walls, I'm sure we'll figure a way out soon."

"Guys! He's blinking!" Katara exclaimed, smiling as one hand caressed his cheek, the other holding Aang's hand tightly. The others stood up from where they sat and gathered behind Katara.

"Where... what happened?" Aang groaned as he tried to get up.

"Someone get him some water." Katara requested as she helped Aang get up, subsequently making him lean against a wall nearby for support.

Azula sighed and reluctantly got up to go get Aang some water. It's probably the least she could do to return him the favor. She hated the feeling though, she hated being humbled down, she hated being in anyone's debt.

She walked towards the end of the hallway filled with refugees to go grab some cup of water. From what she's heard by far, there were inside Wall Rose and the creatures they encountered not too long ago were called "titans."

"Here." She said as she handed Katara the cup of water.

"Thanks," Katara replied flatly as she gave it to Aang. "Go drink up, you need it."

Aang did what he was told, before he went on and asked another question, his voice still raspy. "How did we get here?"

"We got luckily saved by a couple of soldiers just in time, then they brought us here inside the walls... I guess we're safe for now..." Sokka answered.

"Appa... where did they.." He cut himself off as he slowly began to remember the events that led them there.

"Aang, Appa got eaten... that's why we're stuck here." Katara looked very concerned before she reminded him, her hand placed gently above his shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry... I'm starting to remember now." Aang told her before he continued asking, "So... you guys have any plans?"

"Azula and I scouted around the refugee camp to go gather some information. Apparently, the outer wall which we thought was Ba Sing Se's lower ring is called Wall Maria. It got destroyed a year ago so they sent thousands of refugees to retake it, but they failed. Then now they're recruiting more cadets to be a part of the scouts to fight off those... things..." Zuko explained.

"Titans." Azula corrected.

"Right." Zuko agreed, before proceeding with his explanation to Aang. "So yeah, signing up for the cadets then the scouts would help us secure those gears they use to kill the titans. It's one step towards escaping this... place."

"Where are we anyway?" Aang asked back.

"None of us knows it yet exactly... Did we somehow end up in a different dimension? We don't know." Azula mused before turning her attention to Zuko, "Zuzu, when you were searching for the avatar, did your crew somehow manage to circumnavigate the world?"

"I... I don't think so. No." Zuko answered.

Azula continued sharing her presumptions, "Then one possibility is that... we and our ancestors haven't explored the entire world yet, and this is just the other side of it. What's even stranger is that we write and speak the same language as the people here, yet none of them are benders, at least we haven't seen one yet." She then asked Aang, "How about you, avatar? Did the past avatars tell you something about this?"

"No..." Aang simply answered, his voice trailing off before he came up with another question on top of the other, "You guys can still bend, right?"

"Yeah... but we tried restraining ourselves the moment the scouts arrived, they might hold us captive if they find out," Katara answered.

"I see, so if we're not in the Spirit World, then where are we?" Aang mused.

"Azula might be right." Sokka agreed with her thoughts and reiterated it, "Maybe we haven't explored the world fully yet." He then asked Aang, "Have you tried contacting the past avatars yet?"

"I tried once while I was knocked out, but there was nothing. It's as if our connection has been severed off." Aang answered, his gaze glued down to the floor in desperation.

"Funny how this entire adventure started as a mission to find our mom, and now we're stuck here." Azula scoffed.

* * *

It wasn't just more than a day ago when the five of them left the Royal Palace and boarded Appa in hopes of finding Zuko's mom. The first strange thing that happened was that they were headed for the northeastern part of the Fire Nation, but Appa had led them unknowingly to the Earth Kingdom instead. They thought they were flying over Ba Sing Se's lower ring and decided to stop there to gather some supplies, only to find out later on that the entire place was deserted and that they weren't in Ba Sing Se at all. If it weren't for the thick sea of gray clouds obstructing their view, they would've found out about it sooner and they wouldn't have gone down. But as Appa descended rather quite quickly, a stray titan grabbed its tail and dragged him to the ground before it attempted to eat him. The group didn't even have a full second to internalize what was going on, they had to react at the spur of the moment and jump out of Appa's saddle to save themselves. The titan then spat out Appa's lifeless and disfigured body that was torn down in half.

What happened next almost felt like a blur. They were all lucky that Appa descended near Wall Rose that they only had to sprint just 50 more meters to get into the safe zone. But then again, it was raining. The visibility was too low and the area was infested by titans. More than that, they didn't know where they're supposed to head to. They didn't even know that all they had to do was get inside the walls to save themselves, they weren't from Paradis after all.

Katara tried using the rain to her advantage, but it was no use. The giants couldn't just die off easily with shards of ice and water blades. The same went for Azula and Zuko, their firebending seemed useless. However, Azula tried using her lightning, which surprisingly was enough to kill a titan or two. Unfortunately, at that rate, she'd have to generate and aim lightning at least five more times to kill five more titans within their vicinity, which isn't feasible at all if they want to reserve their stamina longer.

During her third attempt, Azula's aim misses a titan, her lightning hits a chimney instead, causing debris to fall on her. She stood there still, her life flashing right before her eyes. There was simply no way out from it. The giant was already headed towards their way, but she slightly felt relieved to know that she the debris was going to kill her first before she gets eaten by it as the bison did. She had accepted her fate already when Aang suddenly gets in the way to save her, pushing her out as he gets hit by the falling debris instead, knocking him off unconscious.

"Aang!" Katara shrieked as she ran towards her death. The titan was only a few meters away from them by now. Azula still sat there helplessly, her eyes wide open in shock, her breaths rapid and shallow.

"Katara let's go, we have to go!" Zuko shouted.

"You have to help me get this thing off of Aang! Please!" Katara cried out as she frantically tried to lift chunks of stone lying atop of Aang, but her efforts remained futile.

"Katara, that thing is coming we have to go!" Sokka exclaimed.

"So you're all just going to let him die?! Is that it?!" Katara screamed back at them.

The titan was only a few steps away when Azula snapped out of it and grabbed Katara by the hand so they could all escape in time.

"Get off me! He was still breathing! He's still alive!" Katara resisted and tried running back, but Azula's grip was rather strong. "He saved your ass so why wouldn't you?!"

Azula frowned momentarily, her brows furrowed before she burst out in anger, "fine. Then let's all die here if that's what you want. You want to survive? Then we have to leave the avatar, there's no other option." She strongly insisted as she tugged Katara's arm.

"Fuck off!" Katara spat as she yanked Azula's grip off of her arm. Her eyes shot wide open in horror as she looked back and saw the giant lift Aang's limp body from the pile of debris. "No..." she gasped, "No!" A loud cry escaped from her lips as she mindlessly ran towards her death.

But it wasn't until a mere second later when they saw several people wearing green capes swiftly flying over rooftops. The four of them all stood frozen, observing what was going on in pure silence, but still failing to comprehend everything. Those people managed to take the remaining giants down by slashing swords on their nape, and one of them managed to catch Aang's body right from the moment the titan loosened its grip.

"You must be a few of the refugees who survived the operation to retake Wall Maria." One of the green-caped men approached them, "We were told that there were a few survivors left out here waiting for some rescue, but we didn't actually expect to see one, not to mention that there's five of you out here."

"It's a miracle you survived without having any maneuvering gears on you, how long have you been out here?" The green-caped man asked them.

No one simply knew how to answer him. Not one of them understood what was going on after all.

"Sorry." The green-caped man apologized, "Perhaps I'm being too aggressive with these questions, you guys must be traumatized... being stranded out there and all for so long..."

Despite all the confusion from what just happened, Katara couldn't help but interfere, "My friend needs help. Do you have any supplies nearby?"

"Yes. Yes, of course. We'll take you to the refugee camp, there'll be a clinic waiting for you and your friends there." The scout told them as they were led towards a wagon.

"Thank you."


	2. The Harbingers of Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night before the commencement ceremony, Aang receives a message from an old friend, making him doubt his entire existence and everything that the previous avatars have told him. The truth begins to unravel before his eyes, giving him a new sense of purpose as he desperately holds on to his sanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: this is a crossover so there'll be variations in both histories of atla and aot in order to fit the narrative. I hope you guys enjoy reading this!

**The Harbingers ofPeace**

_"There is no war in Ba Sing Se."_

_"There is no civilization beyond the walls."_

_"Ignorance is peace."_

* * *

_"Say, Aang... My legion of colossal titans against your people..." The man spoke, stroking his chin as he paced back and forth across the room like a predator prowling on its prey._

_Who was he?_

_Aang felt as if he had known this man for too long and yet his name was still stuck at the tip of his tongue._

_The man then looked at him and continued, disrupting his train of thought, "Who do you think would win? The great avatar against my titan, a battle that was always meant to be," The man told him casually, his eyes were locked on him and only him._

_Aang scrutinized his face, taking note of the seriousness written all over his face in contrast with the tone of his voice. How could he say it so easily? Like it was nothing to him? How could he possibly mean all that?_

" _Why are you so intent on stopping me? We could've fought back together, your people alongside mine... but you just don't get it, do you?"_

_It was unnerving. Aang knew who he was, what they went through, the stories they shared, and yet his name remained forgotten._

_Aang gulped, he couldn't even afford to look at the man he stood by with and tried to protect all those years. He couldn't afford to witness how innocence could turn into something so... monstrous. From where hope was once found in those teal eyes of his, now reeks of something that is so sinister and rotten._

_"That's not how it works..." Aang's voice trailed off, it sounded almost like a whisper as he tried to suppress the hint of fear and uncertainty in his voice._

_"Then you tell me, how do we suppose to save humanity?" He pressed on further, "Tell me, Aang," he leaned in closer, dark tension lingers in the atmosphere. He sounded more aggressive, more vicious, "what does peace mean to you?"_

_Aang's heart raced._

_Why was he nervous? What was he nervous about? He should be confident, even. He should've come up with an answer by now, he was the proclaimed harbinger of peace by his people, so why he couldn't just come up with a decent answer?_

_"Peace is restoring balance and harmony to the world."_

_He immediately regretted the words that came out of his mouth. It sounded so... rudimentary, almost robotic._

_"Exactly, balance... equality. All those years we've been oppressed, our people were feared and discarded, stuck inside a cage while the rest of the world went on and lived free. Do you think the world would change if we, just suddenly decided to become diplomatic?"_

_Aang answered, "No... but-"_

_"Why is it so hard for you to understand? The four nations, including you, were just as ignorant as the people of Paradis, locked away from the rest of the world. The hundred-year war was a ploy to make your people go extinct. The Marleyans used Fire Lord Sozin as a vessel to fulfill..."_

_No... no. The ringing in his ears overtook the man's voice as he refused to believe every single word that spewed from his mouth. Aang clenched his jaw, he was about to cover his ears when the man whispered right into his ear, "There is always a price to pay. With violence shall come peace. The world is just that way."_

_"I'm afraid that your logic is rather quite flawed-" Aang begged to differ, but the man was very eager to cut him off._

_"You think I don't know? I've heard everything about you. You too have killed hundreds of fire nation soldiers in the process of attaining your so-called 'peace,' is that right? You've destroyed homes, probably killed innocent civilians too whenever you're in your avatar state, is that right?"_

_"Y..yes..."_

_"It's just sad and unfortunate how the world eventually forces you to go against your own beliefs." He scoffed, "You can't eradicate violence with peace and forgiveness." He argued once more and was rather adamant about it, "It just doesn't work that way. Tell that to your people, tell that to the air nomads who got massacred because they're foolish enough just like you. You're all foolish enough to believe that pacifism is the end to all means. You may think you've brought peace to your people, but it's not going to take that long before the world is thrown into disarray again."_

_"Oh, wait... I think I got it wrong." He added._

_Aang gritted his teeth, balling his fists as his temper was being tested, "Don't... don't bring my people into this."_

_He smirked as he watched Aang's facade disintegrate, that must've struck a nerve. Finally._

_"That is, if what you think is true is even the truth... Or the air nomads getting massacred by the fire nation was nothing but a fabricated lie you created for yourself?"_

_What... what does that even mean? What is he talking about? It didn't make any sense. Nothing made any sense._

_Nothing._

_He chuckled and cleared his throat as he told Aang, "Then I'm telling you this, this is now a declaration of war between you and me, a clash between my ideals and your ideals. We'll see whose version of peace would prevail in the end. Humanity will be doomed, either way, it's nothing but a vicious and endless cycle."_

_Aang's brows furrowed, he glared at him,"I won't treat my people as pawns."_

_"Oh, believe me, you will."_

* * *

Aang jolted up from his bed, panting as a cold sheen of sweat formed in his palms and his forehead.

What was that? It almost felt real... a panic-stricken Aang touched his face frantically. Finally realizing that it was just a dream, he sighed in relief and gradually began to calm down.

He scanned around the room. It seems that everyone was still asleep, especially Sokka who was still snoring right beside him. He then checked on Zuko who slept on the bottom bunk bed, he too was still fast asleep.

His thoughts then shifted about the man who appeared in his dream. He knew him, he definitely knew who he was, he had to. But still, who was he?

He felt so baffled, how could he know him so well without knowing his name, without meeting him in the first place? How did the man know everything? He then let his thoughts consume him as he lay in his bed wide awake.

He could remember that dream so vividly.

What was he trying to prevent from happening? How did he end up here? What was the universe trying to tell him?

All these questions exhausted him badly, it was suffocating. He stood up and went outside the barracks to gather some fresh air. Tomorrow would be their first training as cadets, but he'd rather stay awake and tired than being trapped in that dream again. 

He paced around and tried to distract himself by counting stars, that until he heard footsteps approach him.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" He recognized that voice before he could even turn around to see who it was.

"Azula," Aang greeted shortly before deciding to openly admit what's been bugging him lately, he doesn't have anything better to do anyway. "Yeah, I feel restless with all these questions circling my head. I feel restless without having a solid plan."

"Me too..." Azula said, following Aang as he sat on the step under the porch. He felt rather quite thankful that Azula wasn't hostile towards him or anything, and he assumed to know the reason why. Maybe it's because of the feeling of being trapped someplace far that you're not familiar with, and you have no other choice but to trust the people you're stuck with, even if they were your enemies.

Azula was the odd man out. She had no other choice but to conform with the group's decision and go with the flow, that would increase her chances of escaping this place as compared to solely acting out on her own.

That's one probable reason, Aang thought, and he was about to hear the next. "Why did you save me?" Azula asked him bluntly, "I killed you that day without hesitation. You're the avatar, I get it. But if I were in your shoes, I still wouldn't have done it. You saved me back there without hesitation, why?"

Aang was about to answer the question, but he could hear this distinct voice at the back of his mind. " _My own mother thought I was a monster,"_ the voice said.

Azula grew rather impatient after receiving no response from Aang, the boy kept staring blankly into nowhere instead, it irked her.

Azula spoke to him again, bringing him back to his senses, "Forget it, you're an idiot. That's what you are. I don't care if you saved my ass back there or if your girlfriend keeps on using that as leverage against me. I still didn't ask for your help. Maybe you guys would've given me a huge favor if you just let me die back there."

Perhaps he spoke too soon about Azula not acting hostile towards him.

"Azula, that's not what-"

Azula closed her eyes shut, sighing before he cut him off, she sounded calmer this time though, "Look, just... I don't need your help... is all I'm saying. I'd hate to be in anyone's debt, especially you, of all people. Although you can expect me to cooperate with your tiny group for now... but after we get back home, forget everything even happened."

"If we do get back home alive, that is... but thank you though," Azula added as an afterthought before she left Aang alone and headed back to their quarters.

* * *

Hours later they found themselves gathered inside the training field under the scorching heat of the sun.

"We now begin the enlistment ceremony for the 104th Trainee Corps!" The man who stood in front of them, who Zuko assumed to be the commander, shouted, "I am Keith Shadis, and I had the misfortune to be assigned to train you, bastards!"

Meanwhile, Katara observed everyone within her vicinity, they were quite plenty after all, probably more than a hundred or two. Her gaze then fell unintentionally at Azula, who stood right beside her, sheer annoyance written all over her expression.

What's wrong with her again?

Azula hated it. She hated being treated as a subordinate. She was a monarch, she had the birthright to rule. But she guessed she had to live with it and endure it for now. She just wanted to get things done fast and over with. Don't they all?

"You there!" Keith Shadis yelled as he pointed his finger at the crowd. Both Katara and Azula looked where he was pointing his finger at, it was where Zuko, Sokka, and Aang were standing.

"Yes, sir!" Sokka responded as he quickly figured out that the commander was referring to him.

"Who are you?!"

"Sokka Wolff, from Trost District, Sir!"

"Wolff, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"To join the scouts and help save humanity, sir!"

Good. He answered just as planned. Sokka sighed in relief as the commander moved onto somebody else.

Zuko found it quite tedious and unproductive as the commander picked on one cadet to the next, he then started taking note of their names, Armin, Marco, Jean, Connie...

"You're doing it wrong, Connie Springer..." Shadis growled lowly as he grabbed and squeezed Connie's head, "I explained that this salute demonstrates your resolve to devote your entire heart to the people… Is your heart on your right side?!"

On the other hand, Katara and Azula couldn't help but get bothered by the girl standing right in front of them as she mindlessly ate a baked potato in the middle of the enlistment ceremony.

"Hey, you…What are you doing?" Shadis asked, appearing to be baffled at the girl's brazen behavior while still keeping his stern demeanor.

Katara and Azula could feel the secondhand embarrassment as the girl didn't respond and continued eating her baked potato.

"You’re the one I’m talking to! You! Who are you?!"

The girl finally noticed and responded immediately, "Sasha Braus from Dauper Village, Wall Rose South District, sir!"

Just as expected, the girl got apprehended in no time.

* * *

Dusk eventually came around. Zuko, Aang, Katara, Azula, and Sokka were gathered on the front porch with the other cadets.

"He's still making that potato girl run..." one cadet muttered as Sasha just went past by in front of their barracks. Zuko looked at him and tried to remember his name from the ceremony earlier. Ahh, Connie, Connie Springer.

"Serves her right for eating potato at a commencement ceremony," Azula commented with her elbows crossed in front of her chest.

"Her endurance must be insane though," Sokka added.

"Yeah, she's been running for five straight hours." Eren butted in.

"I don't think I can even run for an hour straight..." Aang interjected.

"So she's from Dauper Village, isn't that the tiny hunting village deep in the mountains?" Connie asked Aang.

Aang smiled awkwardly. The other four looked at him discreetly, hoping that he doesn't bluff and get them exposed right on their first day as cadets.

Aang placed a hand on his nape, chuckling as the atmosphere was filled with awkward tension, "Yeah..."

Luckily for them, no one seemed to care.

" _Oh, believe me, you will."_ Aang could almost hear the voice from his dream speaking to him in person as he kept his eyes on the dark-haired cadet with the teal eyes.

That until Sokka tapped his shoulders, "Aang, you good? Looks like you've seen a ghost."

He shrugged his shoulders in response, chuckling as he scratched his head sheepishly, "Nothing... I'm fine... I'm just... hungry, I guess."

"Oh boy, me too..."

* * *

_It was the night before the cadet enlistment, the five of them were gathered in an isolated corner inside the refugee camp. Zuko, Katara, Aang, and Azula sat down in a circle while Sokka was on the lookout as he leaned on a pillar. The fire siblings snuck into a public library that afternoon to gather some sufficient information about Paradis; its geography, basic history, and titan anatomy._

_Azula began proposing her strategy, speaking warily as her eyes scanned the place for any unwanted ears, "Okay, so here's the plan. To prevent raising any suspicions, no one knows who. It's easier that way, in case any of us gets caught."_

_Zuko added as he opened up a scroll for the others to see, "We listed some of the common surnames they use, as well as the districts and towns in Wall Rose and Wall Maria. I suggest we pretend we come from different places first, then we pretend to meet each other and get along after the commencement ceremony. That way, we can keep communicating to each other as a group without raising any suspicions."_

" _Yes," Azula agreed and continued, "that'll sound more believable and will raise fewer suspicions as compared to us enlisting for cadets as a group in the first place. Also listed down in the scroll are the rumors we've heard so far from the fall of Wall Maria to prevent ourselves from bluffing in case anyone asks us about it."_

" _Also, no bending unless it's necessary... unless you're stuck in a near-death situation. I'm pretty sure you guys aren't dumb to not know this by now." Azula added as an afterthought._

_Aang and the water tribe siblings nodded as they studied the scroll. After a short while, Sokka sighs and hesitantly compliments the fire siblings, "Well, what can I say, we won't be able to do anything here without you guys." He then playfully patted Azula and Zuko's heads and ruffled their hair._

_Azula froze, biting her lip in sheer annoyance as her cheeks turned red before she threatened Sokka, "Do that to me again and I will not hesitate to burn you into a crisp."_

_Zuko hated to dampen the mood, but he went on and told them their thoughts,"We may have a plan for now, but here's the catch... Azula and I realized that even if we do steal one of those gears now, it still doesn't guarantee us a ticket back home."_

_Azula continued, "Have you seen the terrain before we approached the walls? It's quite similar to Ba Sing Se's, nothing but a vast desert. Clearly, the gears won't work there. We'll easily become prey."_

_"So... what do you suggest we do?" Aang asked._

_"We've learned that earning a spot in the Top Ten Cadets gives you the privilege to enter their military. At least one of us, better if two, should join the Military Regiment to infiltrate the interiors." Azula gave him an answer, to which Zuko explained further._

_"We'll search for other weapons, any technology they have to use for our escape. But we'll only work our way up from there. Nothing's certain for now."_

_Zuko added further, "What's even worse is that this civilization seems to lag far behind in technology. I doubt we'll ever find anything useful like airships to hatch an escape plan."_

_Azula gave them an honest opinion, "I'm thinking we'll be stuck here for five years, give or take."_

_Aang's expression dimmed, "Five years?! Then... then what will happen back home?"_

_Things are easier said than done, but Zuko decided to do their sanity a favor and said, "It can't be helped. We're stuck here. I'm sure the ones that were left back home could handle it. Let's just all hope for the best."_

* * *

"So, I haven't heard from you guys yet... By the way, I'm Eren Yeager from Shiganshina district." The dark-haired boy with the teal eyes walked up front and introduced himself.

Eren Yeager... Aang repeated his name in his thoughts for some weird reason.

Eren Yeager...

"Shiganshina? You were there on that day?!" Connie exclaimed.

"So that means you saw the colossal and armored titan in person?!" Sokka asked him just as planned.

Katara successfully stifled a laugh at Sokka's bad acting by coughing and clearing her throat while Azula plainly rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I was there that day with my friend here, Armin. But let's save the stories for later." He said as he introduced the blonde-haired cadet beside him, "How about you guys, what are your names? And where are you guys from?"

"Aang Vogel, Krolva District."

"Zuko Brandt, from Trost."

"Sokka Wolff, from Trost District."

"Azula Aliev, Stohess District."

"Katara Dover, Karanes District."

Aang pressed further, out of pure curiosity, "So, Eren... what was it like? I mean, what does the colossal titan look like? And the armored titan?"

Eren was about to give him an answer when a wagon carrying people passes by within their vicinity. "What are those?" He asked.

"Dropouts. They requested to get transferred on the frontier." Connie answered.

"On their first day!?" Armin asked back.

"It was only a matter of time… If you aren’t strong enough, you have to leave. It's hard to believe they’d rather go back to weeding and picking up rocks." Eren scoffed dismissively.

* * *

All the cadets went on and had their dinner that night. The five of them, among all the other cadets, have finally heard Eren's story while also witnessing his hatred for titans and his keen desire to kill them.

Later that night, Zuko, Katara, and Azula strolled around the training grounds for some fresh air while Sokka and Aang socialized with the other cadets. Katara didn't feel up to interact with the other cadets yet, so she had no choice but to join the fire siblings.

"That's so much talk for a boy who looks like he has no firsthand experience with war. I doubt he could even fight those things off himself. Looks like I found my new competition." Azula said nonchalantly, referring to what went down earlier between Jean and Eren.

Zuko scoffs in response, "Seems to me you're just looking for a new person to humiliate. And you, firsthand experience with war? Really?"

Azula glared at him, now sounding annoyed, "What do you mean, Zuzu? We've all been through war."

"Commanding soldiers from your precious throne doesn't equate to having a firsthand war experience, Azula." Zuko argued.

"Oh, please..." Azula rolls her eyes, but Zuko was rather adamant to continue his argument.

"This one's different, it's nothing like the hundred-year war back home. We're not in control of things, we're the pawns now."

Clearly, Azula lost the argument on this one. She sighed in defeat and told Zuko instead, "I don't care, I just want to go home."

"Oh, believe me, we all do." Katara chimed in.

In the middle of their conversation, Sasha approaches them and drops on the ground in exhaustion. Both Zuko and Katara quickly got on their knees to help her get up.

"F-food..." Sasha muttered as she tried to grab the piece of bread from Azula's hand.

"Oh, you mean this?" Azula asked as she held up the bread in front of Sasha's face, only to eat it in the end with one bite.

"You truly are the spawn of the devil..." Katara grunted as she and Zuko carried Sasha on their shoulders.

Azula smirked in response, "Hmmm, I almost forgot that, thanks for reminding me."

Katara rolled her eyes, "I hate you."

"The feeling's mutual." Azula retorted, smiling spitefully.

* * *

Katara laid in her bed exhausted, hands behind her nape. She hated how she's going to spend the rest of her nights in this foreign place sharing a bed with none other than Azula, of all people. Five years... or more, she doesn't even want to think about it now. Speaking of which, she sees the fire princess from the corner of her eye as she climbs on their top bunk bed, finally joining her.

"Do royalties like you really take an hour in the bathroom to prepare for bed?"

"Hah... funny."

Katara then notices something different, "You cut your hair?"

Azula finally realizes the consequences of her actions. Looking down, she combed her hair with her fingers, it barely even went past her ears. Perhaps she cut it too short. She then replied as she laid down beside Katara, "Yeah..."

She felt quite relieved as she saw Katara close her eyes before facing away from her. She's rather quite glad that the water tribe peasant didn't seem to care or even bother asking why.

* * *

"Say, Aang, I thought I heard you talk in your sleep last night... Or maybe I was just dreaming..." Sokka told Aang as they both laid down in the upper bunk bed.

"Really? What was I saying?" Aang asked casually.

"Titans..." Sokka answered, "it really got into your head, huh? I guess I couldn't blame you... this entire thing just feels like a nightmare..."

"Yeah... yes it does." Aang replied before he reluctantly opens up to Sokka, "You know, Sokka... I keep on having these visions... No," he stopped abruptly as he thought of a better way to say it, "They're more of... premonitions. I think I'm here because I need to stop something from happening, but I have no idea what it is."

Having received no response, he then looks at him and sighs in defeat as he finds out that Sokka was already fast asleep. He laid wide awake in his bed for a couple more minutes, contemplating.

So what if he thinks that Eren was the man in his dreams? What now?

He missed Appa. Why can't it be just Appa who appeared in his dreams instead? He just wished he'd dreamt of Appa instead. Why did Appa have to die? He fidgeted with the bison whistle he kept under his pillow, grasping it tightly as he forced himself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it seems that I might've just given out a major plot too soon, but I promise that there's more to it than that. Feel free to comment or suggest anything, tell me what you think about this so that I can improve as a writer. Thank u!


	3. And so the Wolf Devours the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two years after the commencement ceremony, everyone becomes successful at honing their skills further, but the same thing just can't be said to how everyone else is trying to keep themselves sane. While more secrets begin to emerge, their motives soon begin to change. This entire ordeal is suddenly not just about simply going home now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you all for reading this!! And also thanks for the kind reviews <3
> 
> Re: (about Appa getting 'eaten' when titans don't eat animals, i got this question from a review in another website so I also decided to put it here):
> 
> My explanation for this is that the stray titan intended to eat the five of them all at once, but everybody was rather quick enough to think on their feet. So while the titan thought he was about to devour the five of them through Appa, everyone jumped out just in time while Appa still got chomped on. Well, the titan technically didn't “eat” Appa once everyone else got out, but I think I should've made it clear from the start to avoid any confusion. Maybe I should've made Katara say "Appa died" instead of “Appa got eaten”... Would it be better if I change the dialogue? Thanks for pointing it out nonetheless!!
> 
> Re: Zuko's scar, Aang's tattoo, Azula being from Wall Sina, Katara and Sokka's skin color, their questionable backgrounds...
> 
> Thank you for pointing this out too, I was about to add the explanations for these somewhere along chapter 2 or 3 but then I was thinking that the chapter might become too long. As for their "weird" names, I believe it's the same situation as Mikasa's owing to the presence of Orientals inside the walls. Nonetheless, I will add the explanations for these in the upcoming chapters as flashbacks. Also, appa being eaten was previously explained already but still, thank you for pointing it out!

**And so the Wolf Devours the Moon**

_“What must be done must be done, no matter what happens.”_

_-Annie Leonhart_

* * *

Two years after the enlistment, only forty-two out of the two hundred initial recruits remained in the 104th South Division Training Corps. Today, they were being sent out to the wilderness to train but before they could proceed, Keith Shadis stood by the entrance to give them specific instructions.

“You will be slaying dummy titans today in groups of seven and there are exactly a hundred and twenty-six dummy titans spread out in the area, giving each one of you a chance to kill at least three titans. That is, if you’re fast enough. Of course, to make the competition more challenging, you can slay more than just three titans until there’s nothing left for the other groups to slay… Now, you will be grouped randomly,” Shadis explained thoroughly as he walked over to several tables arranged behind him, each lined with a cloth of different colors. There were red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and orange. Seven maneuvering gears sat atop in every one of those tables.

Shadis then began to announce the members of every group,

“Red Team: Mikasa Ackerman, Azula Aliev, Jean Kirchstein…

Blue Team: Katara Dover, Annie Leonhart, Floch Forster, Thomas Wagner...

Yellow Team: Bertholdt Hoover, Connie Springer, Sasha Braus...

Green Team: Zuko Brandt, Aang Vogel, Sokka Wolff, Mina Carolina...

Orange Team: Christa Lenz, Eren Yeager, Ymir...

Purple Team: Reiner Braun, Marco Bodt, Armin Artlert…”

After that, Shadis continued giving out further instructions, “in order to grade you objectively, the blades of your maneuvering gears will be stained with ink that corresponds to the color of your team...” He then emphasized further, “remember, this is a group effort, and the group with the lowest number of kills will be cleaning up the entire training grounds before dinner...”

Aang sighed in relief, “at least the punishment wasn’t so bad,” he thought for about a second, but perhaps he might’ve spoken too soon.

“And oh, before I forget, two members of the losing team will be sent away immediately. That’s all.” Shadis then waved his hand dismissively at his students before disappearing into the forest with the other spectators.

Jean groaned and placed a hand on his nape in disbelief, “why the hell am I being placed in the same group as those two…” he unknowingly spoke out his thoughts louder than intended. Connie apparently heard what he said and decided to give him a light jab.

“Afraid to get your pride stepped on, huh Jean?”

Sasha chimed in, playfully patting Jean’s shoulders, “Quick, Jean! There might not be any titans left for you to slay with those two girls around…”

Sasha and Connie received nothing but a scowl from Jean, who reluctantly began to walk his way over to the red table.

“Jean.” He heard Azula call his name sternly, there was her cold stare again that somehow always made him uncomfortable.

“Yeah?” He asked casually as he shrugged his shoulders, his hands inside his pockets as he tried to keep a cool composure.

Azula put things out pretty straightforward, “you’re late.”

Jean looked confused, it seemed that the other members were all ready to go in without him, “how the hell am I late? Aren’t we supposed to think this through?” He protested.

“Mikasa, you go ahead with the others…” Azula spoke in a rather calmer way than how she mostly addresses the others. Jean gradually noticed that after spending two long years with them. Azula seemed to boss around everyone else, but with Mikasa, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“Roger, that.” Mikasa nodded in response as she signaled the other members to leave. They all went into the forest shortly with their maneuvering gears.

Azula then walked over to him, folding her arms in front of her chest as she began explaining, “Jean, we don’t need tactics here. Those enemies aren’t real. Time is of the essence.”

Jean scoffed, “how did Mikasa agree to this? Running into the battlefield without a concrete plan? How are we going to deal with the real titans if-”

Azula cut him off, as she’s obviously being wary of the time, “Yeah, Jean. You’ll lessen your chances of dealing with real titans outside the walls if we lose right now. And please, aren’t you inclined to work in the interiors anyway?”

Jean simply hated how her words scream nothing but the bare truth, and how successful she was at keeping his mouth shut...

She then continued speaking, “So while the other teams are wasting their time, busy making all their plans, we’ll go in directly for the kill… Mikasa and the others already went for the rightmost, right, and center areas, I’ll go for the left and you for the leftmost. That way, we can maximize our kills and none of us will have to bump into each other.” Azula then fired the grapple hooks without even letting him speak, fleeing right from the moment she’s done explaining.

After hearing all that, Jean guessed he really didn’t have that much of a say in this… how did he get himself dictated in the first place?

“Shit.” Jean cursed under his breath after realizing that he hadn't even worn his maneuvering gear yet.

“Why are they already going in? There’s no signal yet… right?” Connie spoke out of a sudden as he saw both the orange and purple teams fleeing, interrupting Bertholdt who was currently in the process of disseminating their plans.

“Oi… both the Red and Blue teams are gone too...” Sasha observed.

“Guys, you did see the commander wave his hand a while ago before he left us, right?” Bertholdt asked them carefully in confirmation.

Zuko, having heard the conversation from the other group, realizes their grave mistake.

“Shit…” Zuko whispered to himself, eyeing his groupmates as he signaled them to leave without alerting the rival group, but it was rather too late for that.

“Go! Go!” Connie shouted, prompting both the yellow and green teams to race against one another as they sprinted towards the forest, firing their piston-shot grapple hooks all at once.

Only a few kilometers deep into the woods, a mist began to form out of nowhere. In combination with the dense canopy of the forest, their visibility was compromised, making it hard for them to find any nearby dummy titans to slay.

“Katara, you smart little…” Azula thought to herself and smirked in amusement, admitting that it was actually quite clever and that it didn’t seem obvious at all. Losing her focus there for a mere second, Annie suddenly cuts right in front of her and slays the dummy titan within their vicinity. Azula glowered at Annie and aggressively swung from one tree to another, pettily returning to her the favor as she slays the next dummy titan first in hopes of provoking her.

Well, that was rather successful...

“Tch.” Annie gritted her teeth in annoyance as she went on and fled away.

_Azula Aliev, while every aspect of her skills is top-notch and exemplary, the only characteristic that places her below Mikasa Ackerman is that overtly blunt personality that causes friction amongst her comrades…_

_Ah, Katara Dover… a silent killer. Despite being the motherly figure among her comrades, she does have outstanding skills on the battlefield and is very much capable of thinking quickly on her feet._

_Sokka Wolff, an adept tactician and strategist, very essential on the battlefield. However, he and Zuko Brandt are very much alike. While both are highly skilled in combat and 3D maneuvering, they seem to lack motivation and they’re rather quite impatient and easily distracted._

_Aang Vogel, what is he even doing here? Yes, he’s more valuable and has more skills and potential than the other recruits, but he refuses to kill even those dummy titans. He’s as good as a decoy, nothing else._

* * *

“Dammit! I can’t believe I’ve been cleaning the training grounds for three weeks straight now! I just wish Shadis would stop putting me in the same group with… Nevermind...” Sokka whined, rubbing his face stressfully after their anticipated defeat.

Zuko stormed towards Aang and blamed him for their loss. He then proceeded to pin him hard to a nearby tree after everyone else had left. He hissed right into his face, “What the hell is wrong with you?! You dragged the whole team down with your foolish ideals! You and your ‘all lives are sacred’ bullshit will get us all killed in the future!”

Sokka didn’t even flinch, this wasn’t even a shock to him now. Although he partly wanted to stop Zuko, he just couldn’t bring himself to disagree, “Zuko’s right, Aang. I get where you’re coming from but… for now, you need to set your ideals aside if you really do want to go home.”

“Quiet, Sokka…” Zuko reminded him calmly, suppressing his aggressive demeanor there for a short while.

Sokka coughed and cleared his throat, “Sorry.”

“You’re lucky you weren’t one of those who were kicked out… I don’t even know what the commander sees in you that makes you worthy to stay here but if I were him, I definitely would have kicked you out a long time ago. I’m pretty sure the four of us could manage without you…” Zuko fanned the flames further, making sure Aang could feel the guilt in every fiber of his being. It might seem harsh, but he knew it was necessary.

“Okay, Zuko… maybe that’s a little too much…” Sokka remarked.

Aang couldn’t even bring himself to face them. For all he knows, his mind has been in deep turmoil ever since they came here, “I’m sorry, guys… I’ll do better next time.”

The visions have stopped. The last one was the one he got from two years ago. Despite it being so long, Aang remembered them all too well.

“You better...” Zuko warned, giving him a final push on the chest before he finally let go and left.

* * *

“Well, would you look at those slackers…” Reiner told Eren while they trained hand-to-hand combat out in the field, the latter then followed his gaze.

“Annie… and Azula…” Eren uttered their names as he watched Annie pass by, minding her own business, whereas Azula simply stood out in the open, mindlessly playing with her wooden knife.

“How about let’s teach those two a damn lesson… You fight Annie while I take on this one...” Reiner suggested as he walked over to Azula, who seemed to immediately notice that someone was approaching.

Azula asked, “Reiner... What do you want?”

“You always seem to act as if you’re above and better than the rest… Acting all prissy and privileged… So why are you slacking off? Prove it. Prove that you’re worthy of your spot as the second-best.”

_“How nosy. What the hell is this peasant blabbering about?”_

Azula sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying not to sound pissed, “Only fools take this nonsense seriously, Reiner. Hand-to-hand combat training is not a part of our final grade, but if you insist…”

Reiner then went on and called Annie’s attention before dealing again with Azula, “And you, Annie! Eren wants to teach you a lesson for slacking off!”

“Oi, Reiner…” Eren gulped nervously as Annie walked in.

Reiner towered over Annie, “If you don’t wanna shrink any further, I suggest you recall why you’re here in the first place.” He spat.

Azula subtly took notice of the look on Annie’s face. Man… she’s really pissed as hell.

“Alright, Eren. You go first…” Reiner said as he massaged Eren's shoulders before giving him a slight push.

Well, this is interesting. She hasn't really paid much attention to Annie’s hand-to-hand combat skills before. She intently watched as Annie and Eren got into their stances. Eren charged right at Annie first and was about to deliver a blow, but Annie clutched his forearm rather quickly. She then kicked him in the shin and flipped him over like it was nothing.

“Are we done here?” Annie asked as she casually tossed Eren’s dagger back to Reiner.

The whole thing didn’t even last five seconds. Now Eren laid down on the ground, wincing in pain as he hugged his right shin. It all ended so quickly and it looked as if Annie didn’t even put a single effort into it. Azula couldn’t help but admit, she’s good… she’ll give her that. Now….

“Now it’s our turn, Azula,” Reiner said.

Annie was just as interested as Azula in observing each other’s hand-to-hand combat skills, so she found herself staying there for a while and decided to watch.

A crowd began to form as Connie called everyone’s attention, “Oi, everyone! Annie just kicked Eren’s ass! Now Reiner and Azula are about to fight!”

“I won't go easy on you…” Reiner told her as he got on his stance.

“Hmm… if you say so," Azula smirked in response while inspecting her nails, trivializing Reiner’s menacing front.

Zuko and the other three had managed to get in front of the crowd. Now Zuko, of all people, wouldn’t dare deny Azula’s prowess in combat, but that’s only when she’s using her firebending. He hasn't seen her fight without it yet. Although he’s pretty much convinced that she was taught several techniques too aside from firebending back at home, this is Reiner she’s up against. So he’ll be placing his bet on Reiner...

Reiner made the first move as he charged against Azula and threw a punch. The latter successfully evaded his attack as she ducked and moved swiftly right behind him. From there, Azula, using her knuckles, landed a succession of quick jabs on Reiner’s pressure points. First, she targeted his shoulders, then his elbows.

Annie failed to suppress a gasp, how could such a light blow be so… devastating?

Reiner could feel his joints loosen up that he couldn’t move his upper limbs no matter how hard he tried. It’s as if he was paralyzed, like his joints were of melted wax. He stood there baffled, his upper body slumped over, “What... what did you do to me?”

As a last resort, Reiner decided to use his remaining lower body strength to at least kick and land a hit on Azula. However, Azula used this as an advantage to deliver her final blow. Instead of blocking the chi in his knee joint, she grabbed his leg and spun him down to the ground. Reiner rolled over the ground a few times before finally slumping down with a soft thud.

Azula walked over to him, seeing that he was grunting and groaning in pain, “are we done now?”

"So, Reiner... Do you get it now?" The tables have now turned, it wasn't too long ago when Reiner towered over Annie to give her a small lecture, "the people who bother participating in this are either stupidly serious like you, or seriously stupid. It beats me, why are the ones capable of killing the titans are the only ones who are given the privilege to avoid them? These soldiers hone their titan-killing skills just to get further into the walls. It's pathetic, really. Point is, I can’t even pretend to be stupid enough to play soldier in this insane world..."

Well, that was some talk. Annie's facade was too cold and apathetic for her liking, but Azula couldn't help but get drawn into that silver tongue of hers. Nonetheless, she shrugged her shoulders and left, intending to get back into minding her own business. Although right before she was about to leave, she heard Annie call her name from behind.

“Aliev.”

Azula stopped in her tracks and turned around, acknowledging her presence, “Annie.”

Annie put no time into waste, she's never the one to fool around, “teach me," she said to her directly. It sounded more of a demand than a request.

Azula raised a brow and pretended to think about it for a second, but there definitely was no hesitation on her end, "not if you teach me first.”

“Then you just got yourself a deal.”

* * *

Today's training was finally over when someone suddenly grabbed Azula by the hand, pulling her backward that she nearly tripped over. How dare anyone-

"Hey, Azula."

Great. Of course, it was Sasha again.

"What do you want, Sasha?" Azula sighed as she petulantly placed a hand on her hip, trying to keep her calm composure.

"I just need your help, quick." Sasha pleaded, snatching her arm again as she began dragging her somewhere. Agni, her patience sure was being tested today.

"Can't you go bother Mikasa or Katara instead? Or better yet, have something better else to do than pester me?"

No matter how irritated she sounded, it still wasn’t enough to drive Sasha away. It’s as if she was talking to a damn wall, the audacity of this peasant...

Sasha took her inside an otherwise empty-looking shed, which turned to be a kitchen.

“Oh, so let me guess, this is about food again, isn't it?"

"I've figured out when their shifts rotate..." Sasha told her while she single-handedly grabbed three loaves of bread from the cupboard and shoved them to Azula’s chest, "we have a 5-minute leeway before the next batch of cooks come in to prepare for dinner."

Azula raised an eyebrow as she, once again, attempted to talk some sense into her, "Yeah, Sasha... We're about to eat dinner soon…” her voice trailed off before she went on and scolded her, “so why the hell are you stealing these loaves of bread for?!"

Sasha placed a finger to her mouth, causing her to take a step back, "Shhh... quiet down!"

Azula sighed in defeat, she guessed it couldn’t be helped. She wanted to slap her forehead in exasperation only if it weren’t for the three loaves of bread that kept both her hands full.

“So that we have some late-night snacks for later!" Sasha answered in a loud whisper as she kept ravaging through the cupboards to look for a jar of fruit spread.

Azula forced her eyes shut in utter disappointment after hearing that poor excuse of an answer. Well, what did she expect, though? She’s… Sasha, the girl who brazenly ate a potato right in front of their commander during the commencement ceremony, "you’re definitely something else, aren't you?"

Like before, her words remained ignored, “bummer, I guess they ran out of fruit spread…”

What happened next made her clench her jaw even more, Sasha began pushing her away hurriedly, "Come on, Azula. What are you standing there for?! Let's go! Before we get caught!"

She swore to Agni, only if she could firebend in this place without facing any consequences… "I hate you!” Azula shouted as they were now running away from the kitchen. Sasha was definitely ahead of her, probably by three or four meters. She’s quite a fast runner that she’s actually having a hard time catching up. She’ll give her that...

“Yeah, if we get caught, you'll be titan food!" Azula added, panting.

* * *

Just an hour before dinner, Katara, Azula, and Christa were the only ones left inside the girls’ shower room when Azula got an unexpected visitor.

“Why couldn’t you just… fucking leave me alone?!” Azula hissed loudly as she raked her fingers through her hair like the mad person she was.

“You’re the reason why we got stuck in this shithole because Zuzu cares about you just that fucking much…” she growled lowly, forcing her eyes shut as she could feel something protruding from her shoulder blades. She winced as the sensation grew more painful, sharper...

Katara quickly grabbed her towel and covered herself with it as she hurriedly went to the stall where Azula was supposedly in. She probably knew how to handle Azula by now. Don’t get her wrong, she still hated the fire princess to an extent, but it seems that she’s been left with no choice but to be her babysitter for nearly two years. And for the record, Azula hasn't had an episode in nearly five months, she simply wondered what’s it all about this time.

Katara sighed before she knelt on the floor in front of Azula and tried to calm her down. The fire princess was scratching her face, breathing loudly, trembling and hugging her knees. Katara shook her shoulder firmly as she tried to place her back into her senses. “Hey, Azula… Get up.” Katara said out loud.

Azula heard Katara and looked at her momentarily, before shifting her attention to Christa who happened to be standing behind Katara.

Katara assumed that Azula was probably hallucinating again, and before she was able to follow her gaze, Christa tapped her on the shoulder, asking, “what’s wrong with Azula, Katara?”

Katara gasped and froze right at that moment, as she still felt the way Christa touched her exposed skin. It’s as if her finger was still laid on her shoulder.

Silence reverberated inside the room, a strong gust of wind came through, perpetuating the uncanny feeling that suffocated them three. Katara’s reaction to Christa brought Azula back to her senses, while Katara was now the one in Azula’s shoes.

“Katara… are you okay?” Christa asked, retreating her hands, clasping them together.

“Sorry...” Katara muttered as she headed towards the sink as fast as she could and threw up.

Christa grew more concerned, a tinge of fear written all over her expression. Still, she decided to offer a hand to Azula. Surprisingly, the fire princess accepted her help, but before she could even pull herself up, she suddenly wasn’t in her senses again.

Christa took a step back, as horror overtook both their faces.

Christa froze and covered her mouth. The three were all scared and confused at the same time, and Christa didn’t know what she'd exactly done wrong to Katara and Azula. Thankfully, she heard Ymir calling her name,

“Christa, what’s taking you so long?”

She took that as the chance to get out of there, sprinting towards her in a split-second, “Ymir!”

Katara leaned forward against the sink, panting as she began splashing water on her face to wake herself up. She then inspected the betrothal necklace worn around her neck that her mother had given to her. She clenched her jaw and squeezed it tightly with her fist. After calming down for some time, Katara then walked back to Azula who now had the same look on her face from a while back.

“What did you see?”

* * *

Later that night, probably an hour or two after dinner, a small crowd had formed just behind their quarters. Sasha had apparently gathered everyone from all the circle of friends that she’s in.

There was Connie, Jean, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Zuko, Katara, Aang, Sokka and of course, Azula.

“Where are Reiner and the others?” Sasha asked.

Jean put on a smug face and attempted a joke, “They probably have something else better to do than ride with your antics, huh Sasha?”

“So why are you here then, huh Jean?” Sasha retorted, as the sly grin on Jean’s face rapidly turned into a look of embarrassment. Everyone else failed to hold their laughter.

Connie patted Jean’s shoulder as he offered him a few words of consolation, “Poor you, always losing the argument against Sasha, huh Jean?”

“Shut up, Connie.”

“Sasha, what’s this all about?” Mikasa politely asked.

“Yeah, you said you have something important to tell us?” Sokka clarified.

“Uhhh, sorry… I couldn’t help but notice, what’s inside that sack?” Zuko pointed out.

“Good question, everyone.” Sasha smiled, making Azula cross her arms and roll her eyes at all this nonsense.

Jean couldn’t help but scratch his head in annoyance and complain, “Oi, Sasha, quit wasting everyone’s time and just spill it out.”

“Alright, alright…” Sasha held her arms up in defeat before she went on and opened the sack for everyone to see.

“Bread… okay…? What does bread have to do with…” Armin mumbled before realizing it was Sasha whom they’re talking to, “ohhh….”

“It’s a late night snack, everyone!” Sasha finally revealed, “Azula and I stole this earlier from the kitchen...”

Azula raised her hand to get everyone’s attention as she clarified, “correction, you dragged me into it. I never agreed to help you in the first place.”

“Oi, Sasha… put that back in the pantry. We might get in trouble!” Eren warned.

“Too late!” Sasha told them as she broke the loaves into quarters, giving everyone their fair share before finally giving some to Azula.

The fire princess was about to grab her share, but then Sasha snatches it away from her and eats it instead.

"Ha! Gotcha! That was for two years ago..." Sasha poked fun at her, talking with her mouth full.

Zuko and Katara laughed as they both knew what Sasha meant by that. Meanwhile, Azula couldn't be any more pissed.

Sasha nudged her playfully when the others are finally gone, "kidding... here's yours."

"I hate you..." Azula mumbled in response as she took her share and stuffed her face with it.

_“Meat…”_

What was that…? Why did she even have to see that? Why does it have to be so abrupt… she was only beginning to… Nevermind. What’s the point of all… this? She hated how Sasha reminded her so much of Ty Lee. She hated how she pretty much convinced herself that all friendships turn into nothing but betrayals in the end, and yet here she was...

She’s annoying, yes, a pain in the ass… but she doesn't know why she lets herself be around her anyways, let alone allow herself to interact with her if she does really hate her that much.

"What's... what's wrong?" Sasha asked, expressing genuine concern as she noticed the tears welling up in Azula’s eyes.

Finally done chewing all her food, she swallowed and looked at her angrily, her eyes still glistening in tears.

"Meat… you should’ve stolen the damn meat, you idiot! I’m tired of eating bread and potatoes every goddamn day… Tch.” She spat before she began walking away, leaving Sasha behind.

Of course, Sasha ran and followed her, "Hey, wait up!" She panted, exclaiming in between breaths, "okay, okay! I'm sorry. We’ll get some meat instead next time.”

Azula, who was finally in control of her emotions now, waved her hand dismissively, "Whatever, get lost, potato girl…”

“Don’t call me that, stupid!” Sasha retorted while she elbowed Azula and blew raspberries at her.

“What a complete moron...” Azula thought to herself as she rolled her eyes and kept ignoring Sasha.

Perhaps she's gone too soft...

“Say, Jean… did you hear Sasha call Azula ‘stupid’ just now?” Connie whispered quietly, “how does Sasha not get scared of… Azula?”

“Tch… it’s more of how the hell could Azula tolerate Sasha…” Jean asked back.

* * *

Katara stirred up another conversation as she laid down in bed with the fire princess, “say, Azula… I hate to say this, but you actually looked cool with that chi-blocking a while ago.”

Azula laughed breathily, “yeah.. Ty Lee’s betrayal kept playing in my head that I learned how to chi-block without even trying…”

Katara frowned in response, “that's… scary. And sad…”

“I saw the future, Katara… but not all of it… they’re more of... fragments. I think I’m beginning to understand why we're here…” Azula whispered as she finally addressed Katara’s question that was left unanswered a while back.

“You, what did you see?” Azula asked.

 _“I finally knew who killed my mom. It's me. I killed my mom,"_ is what Katara intended to tell her, but instead she got herself caught up in a whirlwind of emotions; denial, disbelief, confusion, anger and what not...

Katara then spoke, “I don’t know what I saw back there…They’re memories... from my mom… It’s far different from what I’ve known all these years, I never really saw how she died, all I know is that the Fire Nation took her away from me… but after witnessing my mom’s death from her very own eyes... I… I…”

Katara deferred her thoughts as she chose not to go any further, “maybe I’m going crazy…”

Azula chuckled in response as she placed her hands behind her nape, “welcome to my world…”

* * *

_Where... where was he? It was dark all throughout, with nothing but a dim glow illuminating their faces. But then, who are these people? What was he doing here? Why are their faces disfigured? Their voices sound as if they were reverberated and almost distorted... but somehow, he could still understand what they're saying._

_"You traitors!"_

_"We're blowing off the deal, Eren stays in Paradis,” the female figure said firmly._

_The other man grunted, slamming his fists onto the table as he stood in defiance, "why? We all agreed to this. No one's going home until we get Eren. Isn't that what we're all here for?!"_

_"Home..." She laughed briefly to herself before giving him an indirect answer, "we humans are... no. I don't even know what we are..." Her voice trailed off as she began pacing around the room, she scoffed and continued explaining, "it’s funny how history can easily become so perverted… twisted. I don't even know what's right or wrong anymore... Look, it's all human nature... our needs change, motives change. This is all for our own good..."_

_"What makes you say that?" The man asked._

_"Oh you'll find out, soon enough..." She told him._

_The man didn't hesitate to ask back, "what’s the point in telling us all that if you don’t say it now?"_

_"It's not our place to tell you that," she answered. "All I'm saying is, it's just unfortunate how we're all sentient beings, how we're all given consciousness thinking that we all have the power and control to choose the way how our lives would turn out when in the end, we're nothing but chained pawns to carry out what's been predetermined in the first place..."_

_"What are you talking about? What do you know...?"_

_"Life is pointless, the world is already cruel as it is... and whoever the fuck is up there will pay."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So yeah, too many Sasha and Azula in this chapter, but I'll be focusing on other characters too next! Thank you for all for reading and as always, let me know what you think and stay safe!!


	4. Gospel in the Murk/ Sozin’s Notebook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More secrets are shed into light as events occurring on the other side of the world is revealed after two years since Aang, Zuko, Katara, Sokka and Azula landed in Paradis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi everyone, so here's a chapter that would finally explain my intentions to make this crossover a little more logical and not just because atla characters were transferred in a different dimension out of nowhere. While I do agree that the rest of the Gaang are out of place, I intend for this crossover to depict that atla and aot do exist in the same world. With that, I've looked for parallelisms to create a new history portraying that both shows do exist in the same world. Yes, an entirely new history. To not get confused, if you haven't watched the origin of Avatar Wan, I do suggest you familiarize yourself with it first before reading this chapter. I've also tweaked a few elements in the histories of both shows in order to drive the plot and fit the narrative. Aside from this, I also edited the first chapter by now to clarify that Appa was not eaten, but was rather killed. Again, the titan intended to devour the five of them through Appa, but they escaped in time and Appa was chomped down into half instead.
> 
> As a guide, in the current setting, the war in atla started 100 years ago and the walls were built 100 years ago as well. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to merge both histories of the two shows.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy reading, and thank you for the comprehensive reviews!

**Gospel in the Murk/ Sozin's Notebook**

_The Mandela Effect - a phenomenon wherein a large number of people remember something differently from how it actually occurred; after an occurrence thereof, a person gradually begins to question their sanity as they could feel reality slip away from their fingertips_

* * *

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony…

People believe what they want to believe, a delusion to help them get through their dreadful existence. This godforsaken world has always been in disarray, just how I wanted it to be. It was I who's always been in control.

I was the first entity to break the divide between the mortal and the spirit planes. People coming from all races have given me different portrayals that transcended throughout several lifetimes… the devil of all earth, the spirit of darkness and chaos, the Dark Avatar spirit… Vaatu. No power, not even the merger of Raava and Wan, is enough to contain an entity as powerful as me.

Ahh, Avatar Wan, the fool. The moment he broke my bond from Raava and set me free, I began to lay waste in this world. As I roamed around freely, it is not only the spirits I've corrupted. To sin is human nature, greed and lust for power are innately embedded in the human subconscious, waiting for a catalyst to extract them out to the surface.

What they ask of me, I give.

The elemental cage Avatar Wan had put me in wasn't enough to contain me. Before he died, I broke free.

The titans have set foot and walked around the earth for more than just two thousand years.

Aside from inheriting elemental powers from the lion turtles, these mortals simply begged for more. And so, my first subjects are brought forth into existence; the elemental beings, the very first recipients of the titan power. For years on end, I watched from my pedestal as mayhem unfolded and ensued. I have watched every avatar from many lifetimes fail countlessly in stopping my children. I am overly filled with joy as I watch these mortals push themselves onto the brink of destruction. With the power of the elements and the titans combined, my first subjects, these elemental beings of the four nations, tormented the rest of the world until eight thousand years later.

Eight thousand years later, another mortal caught my interest. By preying on her vulnerability, by feeding on her weakness, I have birthed my next subjects after attaching myself to a slave; Ymir.

What they ask of me, I give.

For another two thousand years, from what was once a tribe previously oppressed by the four nations, have now sided with them to build an empire that is bound to dominate the entire world. After all those years, the avatars were no longer heroes, they slowly turned into slaves, nothing but a mere tool to expand my empire.

And then the cowards came; King Karl Fritz and Fire Lord Sozin… To hate me is to give me breath, it doesn't matter what these mortals do. As long as there is are violence and war, my legacy shall prosper. With the fourteen vessels I have brought into life, I am unstoppable.

There is no god, there's only me.

I am everywhere. I am the way and the truth.

Go forth, my children. Unleash your power and wrath onto this world, let me guide you on a path of destruction. I will be with you... always.

* * *

_To my future descendants, I am Fire Lord Sozin. Today is Day 4 of Year 742 and everything is about to change. Karl Fritz is more than ready enough to pay for the sins of his ancestors, and I'm about to follow suit. From what was once an alliance to expand our empires and to tyrannize this world for many millennia must now come to an end. The Eldians and the people of the four nations should've never existed in the first place. But compared to our people, the Eldians are the lesser evil. We are the impure, tainted not just by the abilities given to us by the Lion Turtles, but we are also the first inheritors of the titan power._

_I cannot bear to perpetuate this any longer._

_Similar to what the Eldians have, we also have a Founding titan of our own, as well as four other titan shifters that correspond to the four elements. The Wrath Titan is currently in our possession, and there's also the Blood Moon Titan, the Reaper Titan, and the Storm Titan. When all fully merged at once, they become a force so powerful to be reckoned with, a vessel of destruction; the Chimera._

_It's just unfortunate how the rest of our kind disagree with my intentions. Therefore, it is only reasonable that I wage a war against the three nations in order for me to seize the elemental titan shifters in their possession. By doing so, I'll be taking matters into my own hands to terminate the curse of Vaatu. I am more than willing to do this in order to fulfill my end-goal; annihilation._

_It may seem as if these measures I'm about to take are way more drastic as compared to Karl Fritz's, but I am only acting as logical because unlike the Eldians, the people of our kind are just too powerful to be contained even in their human form. Therefore, they must cease to exist._

_I have also utilized the Wrath Titan in our possession to create a comet that would come back in a hundred years and by that time, my direct descendants would be handed down the task to obliterate all people of the three nations in order to atone for the sins of their ancestors. As much as possible, I will not use the power of the titans any further to end this curse. I must not give in. This power Vaatu has cursed upon us will no longer be utilized for violence and destruction. The extinction must be done through the use of elemental abilities only, this is my will and as the owner of the founding titan, I'll ensure that everything goes according to my plan._

_As a last resort, however, in case the comet doesn't work and to bring the annihilation to its full effect, in Ba Sing Se, a gift given to us by the Eldians, an entire army of Colossal Titans shall rise._

_Aligned with Karl Fritz's intentions, who is also an owner of a founding titan, I'll be wiping out everyone's memory. No one from the four nations shall know about the power of the titans unless they're currently in possession of it, not even the avatar himself will remember. That way, the people of the four nations would be led towards their death more peacefully. They would be led towards their death without knowing that they carry a burden caused by the sins of their ancestors. It must all end here. During the war, no one from the four nations must flee. By altering everyone's memory, from this day on, the world only comprises the four nations and nothing else lies beyond that. Likewise, no outsiders are allowed to interfere as long as the annihilation has not yet been fulfilled._

_Our history must be handed down only to you, my descendants, and to the Fire Sages._

_As much as I condemn the sins of my ancestors, I couldn't bring myself to deny my love for my own people. I'm doing all this for the sake of the Fire Nation's survival as I have already made a deal with Marley._

_And so, after all this, the remaining Fire Nation citizens, including the next avatar and all the elemental titan shifters, must offer their lives to Marley and to the rest of the world for peace._

* * *

Ozai laid it all to waste inside his cramped-up cell. Two years ago, his children had visited him about the whereabouts of their mother but they never came back. It was just as expected, with the coordinates he had given to Azula, it's highly unlikely that they would return so soon. It's all going according to plan.

Ozai turned his head to the side to acknowledge his lone visitor, "did you get it?" he asked.

"Yes… my lord." Ukano, the founder of the New Ozai Society, replied as he inspected the bottle of wine he had procured for the former Fire Lord. He then informed him, "the other containers have been shipped several weeks ago to other generals in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes, disguised as a gift from Fire Lord Iroh as you've instructed. They probably received it already by now."

"Great… and the syringe?" Ozai reminded him.

"Here, my lord…" Ukano said as he handed him a briefcase embedded with a nine-pointed star and the fire nation insignia.

"Good…" Ozai told him, "you've got the majority of the generals on your side now, am I correct, Ukano?"

"Yes, my lord," Ukano replied.

"And Iroh, I'm assuming he's handling the situation well as the interim Fire Lord?" Ozai asked.

"Unfortunately, he does handle it well. We haven't had a chance to usurp him for the past two years." Ukano admitted.

"I see..." Ozai uttered.

"Don't worry, my lord. I will be holding a meeting with the generals tonight, you'll be back on your throne anytime soon." Ukano promised.

Ozai chuckled to himself, "of course. I trust you, Ukano…." He then went on and told him, "I'd be more than happy to have you share that wine with the generals during your meeting. Do everything towards our victory, all to restore the glory of the Fire Nation..."

"Yes, my lord." Ukano knelt in front of him and bowed down, "I humbly express my gratitude for putting your trust in me."

"Well, I hope all goes well with the meeting tonight, just make sure to drink the wine right after it's been opened. I've been told by my grandfather that it evaporates rather quite quickly…"

"My lord, if I may ask, what is this all about?"

Ozai answered, his eyes void of any trace of emotion, "I'm merely sharing a gift from Fire Lord Sozin to the rest of the world. You'll find out soon enough," he then asked him again, "you do trust me enough, don't you, Ukano?"

"Of-of course!" He stuttered and cleared his throat, reiterating himself, "of course, my lord."

Later that night, Ozai watched from the tiny window in his cell as chaos ensued in the Capital City. The plethora of lightning strikes from a distance illuminated the faint smile plastered on his face. The ground trembled beneath from right where he stood, and the screams of the Fire Nation citizens down below overtook the sound of blood rushing to his ears.

It's no different. The people of the four nations are livestock just like the people of Paradis. The only difference is that they're confined in a cage larger than theirs, destroying one another instead of being threatened by mindless titans outside the walls. Two years ago, just when Zuko ascended as the new Fire Lord, a Marleyan general visited him in his cell to remind him of the deal.

He recalled telling them, " _I can't do that... I can't release the Colossal Titans in Ba Sing Se to complete my grandfather's mission."_

_"Why?"_

_"I don't possess the founding titan and the owner does not want to."_

_"Alright, then we'll just find another way to annihilate your people, and that includes the Fire Nation," the general then went on and informed him, "the treaty authored by Fire Lord Sozin, King Karl Fritz, and the Tybur Family has now been terminated."_

And now, the time must come.

Moments before embarking on an endless nightmare, Ozai finally injected the syringe into his vein, his head tilted up to the ceiling as he whispered, "Forgive me, grandfather…"

* * *

"You must go! An airship will take you to Ba Sing Se, you'll be safe there." Iroh told Mai.

Mai's heart raced, what does that mean? "You're not coming with us? And why Ba Sing Se, of all places?"

"I have to head somewhere else… where is Ty Lee?" Iroh asked.

Exactly by that moment, the door burst open as Ty Lee came rushing in, panting while she exclaimed, "Mai! They finally found out how to kill one of those things! A canon landed on one of their napes and-"

Iroh hated to interrupt, but it was necessary, "Ty Lee, go with Mai. You must leave, now!" He pressed firmly.

Ty Lee looked at him, confused, "Uncle Iroh… you're not coming?" She asked, her voice trailing off into a whisper.

He admitted to them finally, placing his hands atop their shoulders as a form of consolation, "I must find Zuko. For the meantime, you two should promise me that you'll stay alive…"

Mai's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing his name, Zuko's been gone for two long years and this entire thing, whatever they're experiencing right now, just had to happen all of a sudden. "Zuko's… alive?"

Iroh evaded the question, instead, he urged them again, "Time is running out. Hurry. Leave!"

* * *

Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Sasha, Jean, Connie, and the other five were casually gathered around together while taking a short break from their training when a soldier abruptly interrupted, "Aliev, Commander Pixis wants you in the headquarters."

"Say, Azula... Why are you always having a meeting with the commander? Are you some daughter of a general?" Jean asked out of curiosity right after the soldier had left, but before she could even respond, Eren butted in.

"What made you come all the way down here? You said you're from Stohess, right? Why would you trade your safety inside the walls for this? Not to mention, you always act as if you're better than everyone else. Did you join the cadets only to slap your privilege on us, huh Azula?"

"Oi… Eren." Armin warned as he held Eren's arm to try and stop him from probing further, he then went on and apologized to Azula for Eren's sake, "sorry, Azula… the hot weather is just making him agitated…"

Eren was rather persistent as he yanked off Armin's hand away from him with a glare, "no, Armin. I do want to know." He then went up right to her face and demanded, "so please, Azula. Do tell us."

Annie, having overheard their conversation, subtly took note of Azula's reaction while pretending to keep herself busy from a table across theirs.

Zuko couldn't help but wonder as to how Azula would come up with an answer. Well, Azula always lies, a good one to be exact, but how good really was she?

"It's a personal vendetta..." Azula told everyone flatly. Zuko scoffed, she's probably bluffing.

The whole group laughed, including Eren who asked her mockingly, "a personal vendetta, with the titans?"

Azula couldn't help but sigh as she went on and finally explained herself, "if you're badly crazy about my personal life, then I'm here to find my father's whore. I've heard she's somewhere from the higher-ups here in the south fattening her ass up for all I care... Who could blame her though? Everyone would probably like to fuck a general as wealthy as my father... Because of her, our family went to shit. My only sibling killed himself and my mom went insane. I'll get my hands filthy first by killing that bitch first before I could slay any titans outside the walls.. then I'll kill my father... I don't care if they lock me up, but I've already made up my mind a long time ago…" her voice trailed off before she stared directly into Eren, her eyes reeking of sheer madness, "so, Eren… is there something more you'd like to ask me?"

That dampened the mood for everyone else who was listening. Zuko gulped and tried to suppress his astonishment. He shouldn't be surprised of all people, but it just sounded so… convincing. Not to mention, she had to come up with that lie only for a short amount of time.

Annie scowled as she left, thinking to herself, " _It sounds a lot more believable than the rest, but it's obviously another lie on top of the other... She's a skilled liar, I'll give her that, but either these island devils are really dumb to notice or they simply just don't care..."_

Annie hated it; how gullible everyone was and how she found herself being surrounded by idiots. Her suspicions all began when Katara and Sokka explained to them the reason for their dark complexion.

_"Katara, Sokka... why is your skin darker than ours?" Connie asked out of nowhere, immediately regretting the question, "sorry! I meant no offense! It's just that we haven't seen anyone around here with a complexion like yours…"_

_"It's fine, Connie! I was raised on a farm and I had to work under the sun for hours every day..."_

_Bullshit. Refugees picked rocks and weed nonstop since the fall of Wall Maria and yet none of their skin turned dark. People with skin color like theirs are probably from Marley, or probably from anywhere in the world but here… another is that people around from here don't get darker skin due to sun exposure, it's either they get red all over or they get freckles..._

_"How about you, Sokka?"_

_"Ahh, same thing. I was raised on a farm too. Actually, both our parents are competitors so Katara and I slightly knew each other before we joined the cadets…"_

_"Oh, I see…"_

_Annie wallowed in her thoughts, "Lies... a sloppy one at best. Whoever these people are... they must be from outside the walls... What is Marley trying to hide from us...? Are there other warriors out there too that we don't know about? Are they spying on our progress?"_

Annie recalled everything, every lie that spewed from their mouths. Aang said he had tattoos because he was a part of some minority cult... She doesn't know anymore, she's tired of playing dumb, she's tired of pretending to not care... The only reasonable and logical explanation she's heard so far is that of Zuko's scar. It's always the five of them. Whatever they're trying to hide, she's ought to find out about it soon.

* * *

"You called me?"

"Ah, Azula. Take a seat." Commander Pixis offered her the seat in front of his desk before signaling his personnel to leave them alone in his office.

"I'm here to ask about your friend Aang… You told me he was the strongest in your group, but based on the current reports from Shadis, he is lagging behind from the other recruits." Pixis told Azula as he went on and prepared her a cup of tea.

"Aang's a pacifist," she simply told Pixis as she watched him pace around the room, "with training that focuses on killing, he's pretty much set up for failure."

"Ah, is that so?"

"I believe the cadets are starting to raise suspicions… why wouldn't you just tell them?" Azula prompted as she crossed her legs comfortably and raised her cup to inspect its intricate design.

"All in good time, Azula. If I tell them now, the recruits would be too complacent knowing that they are fighting alongside people like you." Well, that sounded reasonable. She was about to take a sip when another question from Pixis prevented her from doing so, "say, Azula… do you remember the deal we made two years ago?"

* * *

_Two years ago, shortly after disseminating their plan among the group, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by the Military Police. Analyzing the situation, it was clear that they were outnumbered. Zuko and Katara were about to charge right at them, but Azula held them back._

_"It's no use… we're outnumbered." She said, "even if we do escape right now, we'll be fugitives stuck inside this cage. That would make the situation a lot worse. There's no way out aside through those walls… For now, we'll have to talk and cooperate with them…"_

_Azula highly anticipated this. There's just no way they wouldn't find out… There's just no way that no one has seen them use their abilities out in the open when they fought those titans the moment they got stuck here. Of course, they were being watched no matter where they hide. How didn't she notice this sooner? But couldn't Aang sense through his earthbending that there were unwanted ears around them all along? Didn't he have seismic abilities as well? Why did he let themselves get caught anyway? Azula shrugged it off, there's not much use dwelling on it now…._

_Azula walked right over to them, raising her hands as she told them, "Alright, we surrender."_

_"Oi, Azula… don't you have a card up against your sleeve?" Sokka muttered in distress._

_"Just do as they say for now, I'll do the talking for later…" Azula assured, as everyone finally followed suit and raised their hands, placing them behind their napes._

_The next thing they knew, sacks covered their heads with both their hands and feet tied up. The moment the sacks were finally taken off, they were all gathered in one room. By the looks of it, it seemed to be an office of a high-ranking officer._

_"Take off their restraints…" the man who stood behind the desk ordered._

_"But, Commander Pixis…" one of his personnel spoke warily._

_Although Commander Pixis was rather unbothered despite having secondhand knowledge about their abilities, "I know, I know…"_

_The personnel began anxiously removing their restraints, their hands shaking terribly alongside their bodies. They left the six of them alone in the room as soon as they were told to._

_Commander Pixis cut to the chase, "I guess it's no different, you'll die either way. Either I kill you here and now or I let you escape and get eaten by those titans roaming outside the walls. The others want you dead, but I said that's just plain stupid. If I kill you now, it would be a waste of resources for the people here inside the walls and your deaths will be useless... but if I spare your lives and you die out there, then your deaths wouldn't be that much in vain. I'll get to use your abilities for humanity's survival."_

_"So you want to make us your pawns?" Azula asked him bluntly._

_"Exactly." He answered, "offer your lives for humanity."_

_"And what will we gain from it? You can't even guarantee us a way back home, countless of your expeditions have failed." Zuko interjected._

" _That's the point. We're all working towards the same goal. If you help us advance our expeditions outside the walls, we'll take a step further towards finding the truth about those titans and you'll take a step further towards coming home." Commander Pixis answered before a thought had crossed his mind, "but then, how did you end up here? So humanity is not on the brink of extinction after all, is that right?"_

_Aang guessed there's no point in hiding the truth._

_"We were traveling with our flying bison until one of those titans grabbed him and chomped him down... For all we know, we were flying above Ba Sing Se which looks strikingly similar to this place... we still can't figure out as to how we got here… but there are definitely no titans from where we came from… and yes, there's a civilization outside these walls..."_

_"Ahh, I see." Pixis stroked his chin as he paced around and muttered, "a flying bison, Ba Sing Se… interesting. Well, it's no use dwelling on it now, you're stuck here so you have to work with me. Now, let me elaborate our terms…"_

* * *

"Of course, Commander," Azula answered before finally taking a sip. She was right, the aroma was just too identical. "Hmm… this is Jasmine tea. Right, Commander Pixis?"

"Correct. How did you know? Around here, Jasmine tea is only served to persons of nobility." Pixis replied as he sat down on his chair and poured himself a cup of tea as well.

"My uncle has a tea shop back at home," Azula answered plainly, but if she were being honest, she'd rather serve tea with Iroh back in Ba Sing Se than get stuck in this hellhole of a place.

"Ah, I see… Well then, it was splendid chatting with you this afternoon… Make sure you do something about Aang, I don't want to put his abilities to waste…" Pixis said, his hands clasped together as his elbows rested on top of his desk.

"Of course."

He then went on and asked, "do you and your friends have any requests that would help make your stay here better?"

Azula was about to say that there was none, but she suddenly remembered, "ah, about that… a friend of mine wants some meat, the top quality ones to be specific."

"Very well, I'll have my men prepare that for you in a short while."

* * *

Annie stood there, leaning against a tree with her arms crossed, her face looking pissed as usual, "you're late, Azula."

She glared right back at her, "well don't blame me, the meeting with Pixis took a while."

"I see..." Annie muttered with a sigh as she finally walked over to the raven-haired cadet. She carefully watched as Azula placed her bag on the ground before chugging down some water from a leather flask. "Tired already?" Annie teased, placing a hand on her hip.

"Shut up. I just hiked for an hour under this horrid weather." Azula spat and tossed the empty flask away.

"Let's start then. I'll go first." Annie told Azula. As always, she was direct to the point, she's never one to waste her time. They both got on their stances and Annie began to vocalize every step during her actual demonstration, "first you dodge the punch… then you grab the forearm, spin them around, lock your arms around their trunk from behind, clasp your hands tightly, then throw them down to the ground with you!"

Azula gasped for air after she was harshly thrown down to the ground without a warning, her body now laid down atop of Annie's. Her eyes widened as Annie's forearm pressed harder against her neck, her legs locked around her thighs, she was coughing as she struggled to move… She didn't expect Annie to take this too seriously.

"Then… you go for the kill," Annie whispered right to her ear for her final instruction before pointing a knife against her neck. "Say, Azula… who the fuck are you?"

Azula chuckled despite having a knife pointed on her neck, intending to spite her again just like last time, "I'm flattered… Annie…" she laughed breathily, before whispering back to her face with a voice filled with malice, her eyes devoid of emotion, "but I do have the same question as yours... who the fuck are you, huh Annie?"

Annie attempted to suppress the surprised look on her face after hearing Azula address her that way. She clenched her jaw in utmost annoyance, puncturing Azula's neck ever so slightly, drawing a few droplets of blood in the process of doing so.

Azula froze in shock as she felt electricity surge through her veins by the second she felt the knife sinking down her neck. There was this painful throbbing sensation on her shoulder blades again, it was weird, everything felt weird. Annie rolled over, releasing Azula as she tried to sprint away from her as fast as she could.

Annie cautiously stood at a distance, ready to bite her hand in case anything happened. She thought she saw sparks surround Azula's body just a while ago, so why isn't she turning into a... She was disrupted from her train of thought the moment she saw Azula standing up on her knees. She looked just as distraught as she was, but Azula was rather quick to regain her calm composure.

Azula finally stood up straight and began walking towards Annie, who instinctively took a step back. "Since you're the first one to bring it up…" Azula started, her signature blue flame sprouting from her palm, "then here's your answer…"

Who was she? Back in Marley, people with elemental powers are in hiding because they're nearly being hunted down to extinction, except to those who were affiliated with the military. Could it be...

Azula growled lowly, "now, Annie… what the fuck was in that knife? Who are you? What are you trying to do to me?!" She went on and warned her, "don't even try lying. You may have me caught in a lie, thanks to those four idiots, but I know a bad liar when I see one… Also, don't even threaten me by telling the authorities about my abilities… they already know."

Annie looked at her with visible disgust, "you even have the guts to play dumb? Did Marley replace the titan shifters back home? Did they send you here to spy on us?!"

Azula did not understand the entirety of what she was talking about, although she was able to pick up a few pieces of information from that outburst, "Titan shifters… Marley…? Back home? So you're not from here?"

Annie scoffed, she was now beginning to lose her cool, "ah, right. Stop pretending like you don't know anything, Azula. I'm ready to end my mission here and now, I'm sick of this! I don't even care about everything at this point! I'll be finding out what you're hiding anyway once I'm done eating you up…"

Eating her up? Was that meant to be figurative? What is she talking about? She's too tired for this, there's just so much going on…

Annie was about to bite her hand when Azula interrupted her, "say, Annie... I don't care what the hell your motive is… but if you're from outside the walls, then we'll have a better chance of leaving here if we side with you than if we side with Pixis."

What did she mean by that…? Annie tried calming herself down, how could she not be in such an anxious state? She just jeopardized their entire mission just because of some personal motive.

"You shouldn't just have tested me, but this.. this does excite me." Azula smirked before she went on and told her, "you heard me right, we'll help you with your mission, whatever that is, in exchange for providing us means to come back home."

By now, Annie was left for words, "is… Is this some sick game to you?"

Azula brushed her off, "honestly, I don't even care. It's just simple, I'll be siding with whoever's more useful to me. And what do you do to something that has no value to you anymore? You discard them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So yes, to merge the two shows and portray them as if they exist in the same world, the creature who attached itself to Ymir is none other than Vaatu. To think of it, I also noticed that the physical characteristics of Vaatu do resemble that of a spine… Well, somehow. Also, Vaatu was locked up in a tree, and Ymir fell inside a tree as well before the spine-like creature attached itself to her. To clarify the timeline further, Vaatu existed 10,000 years ago according to the show, which is why in the fic, 8,000 years later or 2,000 years before the current setting of this fic, Vaatu then attached itself to Ymir. 
> 
> Also, you guys probably have a lot of questions right now and I know this chapter might be too much to take…
> 
> So where and who are the current elemental titan shifters? I'll be answering this in the succeeding chapters. In case you missed, in the last chapter, Katara mentioned something about her mom's death.
> 
> Also, during Sozin's reign, why didn't the titan shifters resist using their titan powers if they disagreed with his intentions in the first place? When the hundred-year war ended, and obviously, Sozin's plan with the comet didn't work, why didn't the current owner of the founding titan use Ba Sing Se to unleash the colossal titans? Who is the current owner of the founding titan? I'll be answering this soon too.
> 
> Also, to clarify about Azula nearly shifting into a titan, I have inferred that self-harm isn't the only means of transforming into a titan. An example is when Eren turned into a titan for the first time and when he touched a spoon. More or less, it was a just survival instinct. So if it was a survival instinct, the transformation failed to happen because the threat (Annie) withdrew away immediately.
> 
> So if Azula is indeed a titan shifter, why can't she remember anything about their history? When and from whom she inherited her titan? What type of titan does she currently have?
> 
> Also, can Eldian titans obtain the power of elemental titan shifters by eating them? Based on Annie's response to Azula, yes.
> 
> If you have any more questions, leave them in the review box and also, let me know what you think. In case this chapter is vague or unclear to you, I'll be more than ready to edit and make some changes. Thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment or suggestions, thanks for reading! :))


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